Pen Type-A

We love Hi-Tec-C pens. If you’ve ever written with one, you know what we’re talking about. If you haven’t heard of these pens, check out jetpen’s blurb. http://bit.ly/hitecc Pen Type-A is a stainless steel replacement for the Hi-Tec-C’s cheap plastic housing. To us, the Hi-Tec-C cartridges deserve a more durable home.

The design is minimal, the construction is super solid, and indestructible to protect and cherish these coveted ink cartridges. It has a dime screw on one end to allow for easy ink cartridge replacement. Its shaft is a solid smooth surface with no branding, no fancy grip or grooves, and just the right thickness and weight so it feels comfortable in your hand. The entire piece is milled and turned from a block of 304 stainless steel. The raw steel finish today is how it’ll look 50 years from now. This thing will last forever.

The pen slides slowly into its sleeve, which doubles as a ruler. The notches on the ruler are in cm and inches. An internal lip at the bottom of the sleeve protects the tip from getting shoved in any further than it should. The tiny amount of space between the sleeve and the pen creates an effect like a pneumatic cylinder, so the pen slides in slow and smooth.

69 Comments

I really love the functionality of the case, but I was wondering if there was any mechanism to lock it in the case or if I held it upside down would the pen just slide out? I would definitely be interested, but I know that I would inevitably separate the case from the pen in a backpack or something.

Posted July 19, 2011 at 5:15 pm by Mike

Hi,
it looks as if you have reached (in fact far exceeded) your funding goal. I think your idea is brilliant. How and when can i get one of these pens in retail?

Thx
Albert

Posted July 19, 2011 at 5:23 pm by Albert

Hi Albert,
Thanks for writing and we are excited!
We are going to sell the pen from here and hopefully other places once kickstarter is up. It will take around a month to manufacture them. If all goes according to plan. You can still pre order one for $50 on kickstarter, later they will retail for 99$.
t

Posted July 19, 2011 at 5:39 pm by taylorlevy

hey,I’m from china. just wanna know how can i get this pen.I want one very much.So,please reply my email.ok? thx.

Posted July 23, 2011 at 4:48 am by lvjingtian

So, incredible idea, but I have a question. I’m not a drafter or architect, I’m just looking for an awesome pen that has a great design. I get the current purpose of the pen’s housing, but would love to know if you plan on making a version that is more “carry friendly”. Potentially with a screw on cap that could held on the back when in use, like a normal pen? I usually carry my pen in my pocket (or clipped into my shirt) and travel a lot, and this seems a bit big to work well for me. Also seems like it could fall out during normal use and seems better fitted to staying on a desk. Any chance you might expand the design?

Thanks again, and best of luck with the release!

Posted July 24, 2011 at 12:58 pm by Derek

Hi Derek. Those are our thoughts exactly. We’re working on the next pen to be pocket friendly. Hopefully we’ll meet all your expectations too.

Posted July 24, 2011 at 6:19 pm by cwwang

wait so if i back on kickstarter (which i did), will you be selling a travel cap to go with it? I am suggesting you add another tier on kickstarter which allows you to preorder that cap..

Posted July 25, 2011 at 2:27 am by krishna

Thanks for the response. Sorry for the multiple comments, but any way a list could be started to keep us in the loop about a “pocket friendly” pen. The second you come out with one, I’ll be on board, just let me know. (also, you anticipate an entry price? or full price from the start?)

Thanks,

Derek

Posted July 25, 2011 at 5:57 am by Derek

Looks awesome, I’ll preorder one.

Is there any way it will lock into the ruler component? If traveling with it in a bag, will it just slide apart?

Thanks!

Posted July 27, 2011 at 11:19 pm by James

Thanks James! I’ve carried the pen around in a bag and it hasn’t separated. It has a good 4″ to travel before it comes apart, so it’s unlikely to happen.

Posted July 27, 2011 at 11:57 pm by cwwang

Hi Krishna. Thanks for your pledge! We don’t have a travel cap for this kickstarter campaign, but we have a bunch of ideas that we’d like to test out for our next pen type.

Posted July 27, 2011 at 11:59 pm by cwwang

If you’d like to get his pen, you can pledge at http://kck.st/nqVwsX (campaign ends August 15, 2011)
OR
We will have the pen for sale online shortly after the Kickstarter campaign ends.

Posted July 28, 2011 at 12:02 am by cwwang

This is beautiful guys. I do like Your presentation =) – firstly it was bit funy, but overall cozy one. Wish You the best to finaly make it available worldwide =) I’ll definately be the one to have this! =)

Posted July 28, 2011 at 3:37 am by tom

Great design! Simple and clean. May I suggest a triangular version for the housing with different scales.

Posted July 28, 2011 at 1:26 pm by Alberto

Hi, my name is Raphaela, I live in Brazil. I just stop by to tell you guys that I loved the pen… I loooooove pens… since I were a little girl I go crazy when i found a great pen… as an architect student… this passion increased. I can’t live without a pen and a scale… it would be really good to have one of those…

Posted July 28, 2011 at 4:59 pm by Raphaela Santos

Brilliant! Can’t wait to own it, use it, age it and dent it!
Just one question though: why don’t the notches on the ruler go all the way down? Wouldn’t it make drafting a lot easier?

Posted July 28, 2011 at 8:13 pm by emre bagdatoglu

Thanks! You’re right. Excellent eye for detail. The photos are of our prototype, and the lines didn’t bleed to the edges due to fabrication difficulties. In the production version the lines will bleed to the edges, as they should.

Posted July 29, 2011 at 2:22 pm by cwwang

hi guys,

Great concept! Can’t wait to get mine. Rest assured that it will find a nice home in our design office. I can already see myself making that popping sound in a meeting!

Posted July 30, 2011 at 10:53 pm by marc

I’d like to pre-order three if I could!
Send me instructions and a time table for production and I’ll trust you!
Best of luck in your endeavor!

Posted July 31, 2011 at 3:51 pm by Sheliah Safford

Hi Shellah. You can pre-order them at our kickstarter campaign right now. http://kck.st/nqVwsX. The campaign ends Aug 15th.

Posted July 31, 2011 at 5:25 pm by cwwang

I am so glad I came across your design! I bought a (single) Hi-Tec-C pen after a visit to a Japanese book store during a trip a few years ago. I used all of the ink up a lot sooner than expected. To my dismay, none of the stores in my city carried the refill cartridge and at the time I couldn’t find them anywhere else.

The durability of the stainless steel design is just what I was looking for. I go through tons of pens and always just throw them away then they stop working so it’s nice to think i’m being a somewhat more environmentally-friendly (even if it’s just a little bit). I bought three: one for me, and two for some friends.

I’m looking forward to the finished product. Best wishes for the future!

Posted August 7, 2011 at 4:20 am by mrtak

Thanks so much for the note. We are really happy you like the pen. And yes, we are similarly obsessed and understand what it is like to covet one and then run out of ink ! ahhh!

Posted August 7, 2011 at 4:32 am by taylorlevy

I’m so glad I found this pen! Really really haven’t been this excited about a innovative product in a long time. Best of luck on this venture! And can’t wait to receive my pen!

Posted August 7, 2011 at 8:59 pm by citidon

hei, i wanna buy a that pen….how??

Posted August 11, 2011 at 6:36 pm by jhoselyn durán

Congrats with your crazy successful kickstarter project. I was only just too late (well it’s still running for half an hour, but I don’t have my creditcard here, doh!) I’ll try to order some later for me and my friends.
Awesome job!

Posted August 15, 2011 at 1:41 pm by Maarten de jager

I would really like to purchase your the Pen Type-A but it says it is out of stock; when will the pen be available for purchase?

Posted August 16, 2011 at 9:05 pm by Luis

Hi — I just missed your kickstart window and pre-ordered at full price. I get excited thinking about this product showing up in the mail each time I think about it. Now that you are in production, what’s your estimated timeline on shipping? No longer September, I think …?

Posted October 8, 2011 at 3:25 pm by EXB

Hi. I´m following the development of the PEN-A. Congrats on the nice work!!!! However for me the squared cap is not an option. I would like to ask if you are thinking in a near future in using a cap version. I usually store the Pilot in this manner (see link)

To those that ordered pens. Thank you for your patience. We are doing our best to get these to you as fast as possible. Email us if you have more questions. Our manufacturers have promised us that the pens will arrive before the holidays. If all goes well that should be the case. Fingers crossed!!!

thanks again !

Posted November 8, 2011 at 4:26 pm by taylorlevy

Hey, I’m seventeen, I’ve fallen in love with the pen. Unfortunately however, I can’t afford such a wonderful piece of art (works out at about £60+p&p here in the UK) Just wondering if theres any chance the price might drop in the future? Supply & Demand and all that. Thanks a lot, and well done.

Posted November 8, 2011 at 5:23 pm by Martin

hi
i wasnt an original backer to the pen type a project. however, i purchased one through your website. i realise that the backers will be receiving their pens first. my question is when should i expect the pen i ordered? 1 week, 1 month, 3 months after the backers receive theirs?

thanks
looking forward to using the pen

Posted November 16, 2011 at 9:34 am by ian

Hi
We are still working with our manufacturers to perfect the pens. There have been a lot of delays, but the pens are coming ! Our fabricators promised to have them all shipped before christmas. But there are some details that we are still not happy with. So it looks like there will be a delay of another few months. We appreciate your patience. Please email us directly cwandt [at] cwandt [dot] com if you have more specific questions about your order. Thank you!

Posted November 16, 2011 at 9:45 am by taylorlevy

wow, this is such a beautiful pen!

Posted January 17, 2012 at 5:24 pm by T

Hi there,

Really love the look of your pen. However, I like to carry my pen in my breast pocket. Any chance you’ll be making a Pen Type-B with a lid and pocket clip in the future?

Posted February 21, 2012 at 8:52 pm by James Kelly

Hi,
I should be getting a couple of these because of being a kickstarter. When are you shipping them?
Thanks,
Scott Leak

Posted February 28, 2012 at 12:35 pm by Scott Leak

Love my new Pen Type A! I will treasure it forever and hope to pass it on to future generations as an heirloom.

Posted February 28, 2012 at 4:51 pm by James Morrison

I just received my pen on Saturday. It is fantastic! Great work guys, keep it up.

Posted March 5, 2012 at 10:33 am by garth

Got my pen earlier this week! love this things. no issues with it falling out or anything. and let me tell you, CW&T did not go cheap on the materials, this thing is a monster!

Posted March 7, 2012 at 4:19 pm by Bryan

I love my Pen Type-A. I received it this week and I am extremely pleased with it. It is elegant and simple. Congratulations and I hope this is the beginning of a bright future.

Posted March 10, 2012 at 2:06 pm by Louis Davis

Got mine and love it. The harsh judges of my design coworkers at frog are jealous.

Posted March 23, 2012 at 2:33 pm by Hans Gerwitz

My pen traveled safely over the ocean! Thanks a lot for this great piece of design!

Posted March 26, 2012 at 7:30 pm by Felix von Pless

Hi

I’ve already paid for the pen a few months ago
Do I need to send $5 for international shipping to Australia?
Thanks

Posted March 29, 2012 at 3:26 am by Ian

just received my pen today and its way awesome.
worth the wait!

Posted May 3, 2012 at 9:51 pm by ian

Just got both of my pens [w00t] and they both feel and look great but… no ink flow in either. Is there something that I need to do to prime them or something?

this is something that is happening to a couple of people when they get their pen. If the pens are not written with for a while, the ink gets a bit goopy and prevents the tiny ball at the tip from rolling too well. So far, an easy fix is to draw figure eights for about a minute. This will clear out the sticky ink and get your pen working again. keep us posted if this works!

Posted May 19, 2012 at 10:10 am by taylorlevy

Hi there,
Great work…
One question, the scale(cm/in) is only etched or is milled on the case?

Posted May 23, 2012 at 7:03 am by Marcelo Correa

@Marcelo Correa. thanks! and great question. the scale is laser etched, but it is deep enough so that you can feel the etch marks. (they won’t wear off!)

Posted May 23, 2012 at 8:41 am by taylorlevy

A friend of mine contributed to the Kickstarter & gifted me with this pen. Within hours, it had been referred to as The Precious and all sorts of Codes of Honor attributed to its use. I’ll have my first drawing sent along to your Tumblr soon.

Thank you for creating this. It’s life changing.

Posted May 23, 2012 at 2:34 pm by Gregory Jericho

My brother contributed to Kickstarter and I was the very happy recipient of a Pen Type A. It is great and I love it. Thought I would suggest that you consider a magnetic solution to retaining the pen in place. It only needs to retain the weight of the pen against gravity so still allowing the user to easily remove the pen from the case.

Posted June 5, 2012 at 4:25 am by Jane

just got the type A pen as a gift from a great niece and it’s awesome! i love pens and this is going to last me a lifetime with my mini prayer books which i handprint most of my time. great idea guys!

Posted June 19, 2012 at 2:03 pm by remedios francisco

Love my new pen – got plenty of envious stares and comments. One thing though the edges on the ‘case’ are all very sharp, so it’s hard to put it in your pocket as it is at risk of tearing a hold in the material. Also the edges on the end of the pen are rough and unfinished (in feel) and could also do with a smoothing.

Posted June 26, 2012 at 8:45 am by Mark Fletcher

Hello, I want to purchase this pen. How soon will I receive it if I order it today?

Posted June 28, 2012 at 1:08 pm by Albert Adeseye

Hi Albert,
The pens are not available for sale until we have finished fulfilling all of our kickstarter orders. It should be a couple more months. If you’d like to get an email when they become available, sign up at shop.cwandt.com.

thanks for your interest!

Posted June 28, 2012 at 1:11 pm by taylorlevy

Hiya,

I received my pen type-a. Love it!!

However the refil does not work – please can you advise asap! Better still replace the refill!

R,

M Gahir

Posted June 29, 2012 at 6:53 am by M Gahir

Hi M
One trick we’ve seen is drawing figure eights with the Hi-Tec C until the ink gets flowing again. If that doesn’t work, in some extreme cases, you can try soaking the tip in water. If all else fails, let us know. We’ll send you a new refill.

Posted June 29, 2012 at 10:22 am by cwwang

I was wondering if you are selling this pen locally in a store in New York.

Love it!!~~

Posted July 4, 2012 at 5:17 pm by T. Jasmine

Yes! Once we have stock available we will sell it from our site and possibly in some local shops. Thanks for liking our pen!

Posted July 5, 2012 at 12:12 pm by taylorlevy

Hi,
I received my Pen Type A and am trying to change the 0.3mm tip for a 0.25mm one. I can’t get it to fit. Is there a trick?
Cheers.

Posted July 10, 2012 at 8:51 am by Penny

Hi Penny. The .25mm cartridge should look exactly the same as the .3mm cartridge that came with the Pen Type-A. Maybe you got a Hi-Tec-C spinoff? Other spin off styles like Hi-Tec-C Coleto, Slims, Knock, and Cavalier don’t fit. Sorry! Let us know if we can help more! Here’s a link to the standard Hi-Tec-C cartridges with the .25mm tip. http://www.jetpens.com/Pilot-Hi-Tec-C-Gel-Ink-Pen-Refill-0.25-mm-Black/pd/326

Posted July 10, 2012 at 9:21 am by cwwang

I just got mine in the mail. GORGEOUS product. Thank you!

Posted August 3, 2012 at 12:14 pm by Duran

Will you guys every drop the price of this pen? I missed out on the Kickerstarter special. $100 is a lot of pennies!

Posted August 13, 2012 at 11:47 am by JRMN

An ink blob forms on the end of the pen if I leave the Type A sheathed and standing up for any length of time. Known issue? Or must it be kept lying down?

Also as with another report the included refills on each of three pens was DOA.

Looks and feels very, very nice!!

Posted August 16, 2012 at 2:12 pm by Michael Murphy

I was just wondering if I might be able to still purchase one for $50? Please email me back. Thank you

Posted August 17, 2012 at 4:03 pm by Eric

Ok, I know I am not going crazy, what happened to my post? Why are you guys deleting posts? Stop ripping people off and sell the pen for less!!!

Posted August 26, 2012 at 6:08 pm by JRMN

hey jrmn,
sorry we haven’t checked our comments in a while. just approved a tiny backlog. sorry for the misunderstanding. we started manufacturing the pen in the US. so unfortunately we can’t sell it for 50$ anymore.

Posted August 26, 2012 at 6:33 pm by taylorlevy

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